Questions to ask during an interview:

 

  1. If you were to rank all of the people who have done this job in the past, tell me about #1 and why you would put them there?
  2. What are common attributes of a top performer?
    1. Sell the employer on why you have these attributes; use real stories/examples: not just adjectives
  3. What are the key points of difference between your company/product/service and your top competitors?
  4. What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60-90 days?
  5. Can you show me an example of a project I’d be working on?
  6. How will you define success for this position?
  7. What would you expect your best performer to accomplish in 30 days?
  8. What are the one or two things that really drive results for this company?
  9. Which competitors are you most worried about and why?
  10. What does your top performing sales person do that separates him/her from the rest?
  11. What are a few of the biggest objections about your product, company or service?
  12. Why is this position open?
  13. Why did the previous person succeed or fail?
  14. What are the current trends impacting your business and how is your company positioned for the future?
  15. How do you plan to deal with___? (a major challenge)
  16. Tell me about a typical day/week for a sales person in this position.
  17. What is your management style?
  18. In this specific role, what % of the sales reps meet their goals/quota? Exceed their goals/quota?
  19. I believe in modeling top performers by studying their habits to identify what makes them different. Will I have the opportunity to model some of the top performers here?
  20. Is it possible to ride with one of your top performers or call one or two of them during the interview process? I’d like to understand the position from their perspective.
  21. I am very competitive and I thrive on contests and recognition. What contests or recognition programs do you have in place here?
  22. What is the company culture like?
  23. Do you have any concerns about my qualifications?
  24. What is the next step in the interview process? Based on what we have discussed today, is there any reason why we can’t move forward with the next step?

 

14 Killer B2B Sales Questions

 

  1. How did you hear about us?
  2. Tell me about your current situation?
  3. Tell me about your challenges with your current solution?
  4. What are you must haves, should haves and could haves?
  5. What’s your decision-making process like?
  6. Who are all the stakeholders involved in this deal?
  7. Who else are you comparing us with?
  8. What’s the timeline to making a decision?
  9. What’s your budget?
  10. When was the last time you made a purchasing decision for a solution like ours?
  11. What will it take to win your business?
  12. How do you see your business grow, and your needs changing over the next one or two years?
  13. What kind of support/service/help do you need to become insanely successful?
  14. Is there anything that could stop this deal from happening?
  15. BANT for qualifying: Budget? Authority (decision maker)? Need? Timing?